TVER, MARCH 19 (RIA NOVOSTI) - Russia and Belarus have almost agreed to sign an agreement on a single air defense system of Russia and Belarus, said Vladimir Mikhailov, commander-in-chief of the Russian Air Force. He spoke highly of bilateral contacts in the field of anti-aircraft defense. "We maintain close contacts and mutual understanding both on the bilateral level and within the framework of the united CIS air defense system, which has been proved more than once at joint war games and exercises," noted Mikhailov. His Belarussian counterpart Lt.-Gen. Oleg Paferov reported that Belarus was contractually entitled to stage shootings at Russian military testing grounds in exchange for keeping on its territory the Russian early warning radar station Volga located in the town of Baranovichi.
"We keep an early warning station in Baranovichi while Russia enables us every year to dispatch ten air defense battalions to its testing grounds to engage in combat training, said Paferov.
Today, the session of the air defense coordinating committee under the CIS council of defense ministers was over in Tver.
